Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Country

Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from May 6, 2002 to May 31, 2005. Along with Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, he participated in the formation of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). His government passed the controversial ban on wearing Muslim headscarves and other prominent religious symbols in schools. He also expressed hesitation regarding Turkey's admissibility to the EU, in part due to its Islamic identity. Raffarin resigned after France rejected the referendum on the European Union draft constitution, which he had strongly supported.